WOODRUFF, WI (WSAU-WAOW) Residents of the Town of Lac Du Flambeau came to the Woodruff Community Center to discuss the town’s dispute with the tribe with federal, state, and local officials. Tensions were high almost from the beginning.
The town board held a meeting to discuss the next steps after the tribe recently threatened to restrict access to four roads that go through tribal land, that had previously been barricaded, if the town did not pay its permit fees.
Tribe Member Tom Maulson spoke out during the meeting, accusing the town of overstepping their boundaries. Maulson said, “Talking to these here gentlemen that said they control the land, they don’t have control of the lands on our reservation. What makes you think you have that? We gotta talk.”
Congressman Tom Tiffany said that the previous road blocks were illegal, saying that federal funding was used to maintain them. “Because whenever there’s federal funds that are used for something like this, they cannot be closed off in such a way. So I believe what happened there was illegal, the Bureau of Indian Affairs was not helpful.”
Lac Du Flambeau Jennifer Baird Deldebbio doesn’t agree with either the town or the tribe’s handling of the situation. But like Tiffany, Baldwin, and other leaders in attendance, she wants to see the two sides come to an agreement. “After a year of this problem, and potentially having our roads closed again for months. My parents are elderly, they need a knee replacement, they won’t be able to get out if they shut the roads down. It’s just back and forth, and it’s getting to the point where, what are we gonna do?”
The tribe only promises that roads will stay open through September 12th unless an agreement is reached.
The town maintained that they weren’t able to pay the fees, despite threats from the tribe to restrict access if those fees weren’t paid.
Editors note: A previous version of this story incorrectly associated Deldebbio as a member of Baldwin’s staff, which she is not. WSAU News regrets the error.
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